


A 'Heartwarming' Family Reunion

by LadyMuzzMuzz



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Gen, Post DMC5
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMuzzMuzz/pseuds/LadyMuzzMuzz
Summary: There's a place called 'Devil's Peak' that's surrounded by a barren land, as if all life had been sucked out of it.  The government said it was due to a chemical accident nearly forty years ago, but the truth is a lot more diabolical....literally
Comments: 19
Kudos: 38





	A 'Heartwarming' Family Reunion

_ Of all the places for Tequlia to break down,  _ Kathrine thought as she took off her helmet,  _ It would have to be this place. _ To be fair, it was her own fault. She’d wanted to see how fast, and how far her new bike would go, and this deserted stretch of highway would be the perfect place, no cops in sight. After all, aside from essential traffic, this road hadn’t been used in over three decades.

Looking around, it made sense. As far as the eye could see, everything was drab and brown...no...more like grey. Brown indicated former life, dead grass, trees, and healthy, if dormant, soil. Here, there was nothing. Not the sound of birds, the drone of insects, not even the rustle of wind through glass. The place was incredibly, 100% dead.

That’s not to say there weren’t signs of life, evidence that things hadn’t always been this way. Abandoned homes, half collapsed, the occasional decrepit gas station, rusted out shells of their former selves. But like attempts to replant native grasses, any business ventures or people trying to settle down on the extremely cheap land, found themselves withering. It was if the land itself was sucking the life out of them.

Katherine pulled out her travel case of tools and knelt down to examine the problem. To be fair, she’d not expected a sudden earthquake to create that crack in the road. She’d been lucky to see it far enough in advance to slow down so as to not go ass over teakettle and end up a pile of broken limbs and a serious case of road rash.

But, she’d slowed just enough to avoid that painful fate, even though the jarring bump had jostled something in her newest creation, so that the engine cut out, and she came to a puttering, pathetic stop.

She hoped that it was just a loose bolt, maybe something that cut off flow of gas to the engine, easily fixable, or at the very least, easily patchable. Then she’d ride back to her garage with her wounded Tequila (and ego), and do some more tinkering.

If it was something more major.... Katherine bit her lip as she looked up to scan the horizon. After a moment, she spotted the only thing that stood out in such a barren landscape. Devil’s Peak, not quite a mountain, but more than a mere hill, stood at the centre of the hellscape, the sole marker to mentally pinpoint her location. She was miles, if not tens of miles from any place with help, and in her excitement to test out her handiwork, she’d forgotten her cell phone. 

Strangely, that rather sharp earthquake, which seemed quite out of place in an area with no known history of tectonic activity had ended as quickly as it started, as if it hadn’t happened. Still, Katherine was reluctant to just leave the bike on the side of the road while she made the very long trek to a phone booth, or some other point of civilization. The highway, while neglected (thankfully, the cracks in the road weren’t filled in by vegetation), it wasn’t completely deserted. Locals used it as a shortcut, truckers used it on occasion, and rarely, tourists attempted to brave the lifeless landscape, before quickly giving up. Even now, Katherine felt like something was siphoning her energy, just being here.

There, in the complete silence, a low rumble came from the west. Slowly, it got louder, and a high pitched whine accompanied it, interrupted by pops, like a mechanical bag of microwavable popcorn.

Much to her dismay, a pick-up truck came over the ridge. Dismay, because her potential saviour was less a ‘knight in shining armour’, and more of a ‘Don Quixote’ with a hobbled nag and rusty metal plate.

Reluctantly, she waved the half rusted out vehicle down, and the truck came to a stop. The driver and his two passengers matched their ride. The rank smell of tobacco and alcohol billowed out as their window winded down. The driver, who hadn’t shaved, or even trimmed in weeks, stuck his head out, adjusting his barely hanging on side mirror.

“What’s a pretty lil’ thing like you doin’ in a place like this?” The man smiled with yellowed teeth. It took Katherine a lot of willpower to not recoil. She had to act confident here, to maintain that veneer that she was in control.

“Just a bit of engine trouble,” she gave a fake smile as she jerked her thumb in the direction of Tequila. “Say, none of you fine gentlemen would happen to have a cell phone, would you?”

The driver and his passengers casually glanced at each other, before shaking their heads. The one farthest from her spoke. “Sorry, sweetheart.”

“But,” the driver interjected, “we got a bit of room in the truck, it’ll be a tight fit” and she swore he leered at her, “but we can get you to town.”

Katherine was a self-assured woman, but she didn’t want to get any closer to these men, any more than she had to. 

“No thank you,” she diplomatically declined, “But if you could do me a favour, and call Mike at this number,” she handed a business card of her mechanic buddy, “just tell him Kathy needs a tow back to the garage.”

Unfortunately, the guy didn’t seem to get the message, “D’aww, it would be downright ungentlemanly to leave such a cute lil’ lady like you in the middle of a place like this,” he spat out a wad of what she hoped was chewing tobacco onto the ground, before turning to his buddies, “Hey Jack, let’s give the lady a hand!”

“That won’t be necessary-” she started, but none of the men seemed to hear her, or if they did, they managed to ignore her, as they began to surround her bike. Like a mama bear, an overwhelming urge to protect Tequila flowed through her veins as she stalked over.

The guy named Jack whistled as he practically caressed the shiny chrome with greasy hands.    
“Wowee, what a beaut! A custom built rig! You gotta tell me the guy that built this for you,”

“Hey! Hands off!” she lightly slapped his hand away from her ride, strong enough for him to get the message, but soft enough to not cause offense. “And I built her myself, thank you very much.”

“A hot babe like you?” the driver stared at her unbelievably, a tiny stream of brown drool threatening to dribble into his beard, “built this? Sorry honey, that seems like a tall tale, a girl with an ass and a set of tits like yours would be better in a strip joint, not in a garage.” And if to emphasise the point, the other guy slipped behind her and gave her ass a pinch.

“Hands. Off.” She repeated, her voice lowered dangerously, this time not referring her to her bike. “Or I’ll…”

“Or what? The driver, interrupted, “Scream for help?” He exaggerated a scan at the lifeless surroundings, “Sorry to break it to hun, but you ain't getting any help from anyone else.” he attempted to soften the smile, far too late to start being friendly, “We’re just a few Good Samaritans who just wanna help,” the smile dissolved, “We just wanna help ourselves a lil bit. Yah know, a helper’s. fee. After that, we’ll get you to town, any you’ll never have to ever see or ever hear from us ever again.” Katherine was now surrounded on all sides. The men didn’t look that in shape, and she knew she one on one, she’d be able to kick their ass. But all three of them together, with each of them weighing almost twice as much as her, she didn’t have a chance. She’d be able to easily outrun them, but to where? There was absolutely nothing for miles. And a tiny part of her was still worried about leaving Tequila with these monsters. 

“Don’t worry,” Jack said as she was caged in, her only window of escape vanishing, “We’ll make sure you enjoy this as much as we do…”

Katherine’s confidence crumbled, “Please… don’t” she whimpered, as one of them, the driver this time, squeezed her ass again.

_ “I believe the lady already declined your request, and you should obey it” _

A deep voice came from a few yards away, and all three men turned, startled at the sudden sound. Even distracted as they’d been, none of them, or her, had heard the approach of another vehicle. But looking around, there was nothing, just the rusty bucket of a truck, and the gleaming shine of Tequila's chrome.

The only new arrival was a man, his white hair marking him out as an older gentleman, but his other features, like the lack of wrinkles indicated he was much younger than at first glance, or was ‘aging quite gracefully’ as her mother would say. His outfit was quite out of place as his sudden appearance, a dark royal purple suit, three quarters of a century out of fashion, even for formal occasions, but it honestly seemed to fit him perfectly. He smiled at the four of them with politeness, but there was something...off about it. Too many teeth, like he was trying to remember to smile. Or trying to remember HOW to smile.

“We got this under control, old man” the driver barked out, clearly annoyed at the unexpected interruption. “Now, scram. Or you’ll regret pissing us off.”

The threat seemed to stick to the gentleman like water on a duck's back, and he calmly (almost too calmly, Katherine thought) scratched the bridge of his nose.

“Nevertheless, the lady has already made her decision that she does not need your assistance, so you ought to be on your way.” There was a bite to the voice, the edge of a threat, as fine and sharp as a well crafted blade, “I would very much not like things to escalate to violence, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I don’t know what you think you can do to us, gramps,” Jack cracked his knuckles as his pals stood side by side, the driver flicking out his jacknife, the other man testing the weight of his wrench by slapping in his hand. Katherine took the moment of opportunity to get away, but her worry for her unexpected saviour kept her from fleeing outright. He looked a bit frail, like he’d just recovered from a long illness, and wouldn’t be overpower one, let alone of all three of the bastards. She quickly found a ratchet in her travel toolbox, and while it didn’t have the heft of one at home, a good blow on one of them would take them out. Maybe while they were distracted, she could take out two, or even all of them…

“I asked you nicely,” the old gent told them, as they approached him, and his voice changed subtly “but you seem to not to understand the meaning, so I will have to use more direct measures.” Oh yeah, his voice had definitely changed by the end of his sentence, reverberating and becoming crackly like a...horde of bugs....specifically beetles, had all unfurled their wings at the same moment.

His voice had some sort of effect, the men recoiled, and the driver dropped his jackknife. And in the formerly still air, there was a current of living energy, and Katherine swore she felt like she was in the middle of an insatiable swarm of invisible insects, seeking to devour everything in their path, like a horde of locusts. So strong was this feeling that she instantly slammed her mouth and eyes shut, and curled into a ball, to keep the non-existent bugs away

She heard the heavy clang of metal hitting gravel, and the sound of panicked running.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” you heard the driver screech out, “Get back in the truck, boys, leave the girl with the freak!” She saw them comically lumber away, wheezing in fright and the exertion, practically clawing at the door handles to get back in. By this time, the incredibly creepy feeling was beginning to dissipate, not that the assholes noticed, as they clambered in, and with a gutteral tortured roar from the engine, they peeled away, leaving naught but the smell of burning rubber as the truck, considering its battered condition, sped away much faster than she thought possible. 

“An unpleasant situation to be sure, but thankfully, no harm came to anyone,” the gentleman spoke in a completely normal voice as he watched the rapidly shrinking dot disappear on the horizon. He sighed, before looking down at her, extending a gloved hand. “I hope the experience hasn’t harmed you, milady”. Cautiously, she reached out, and with surprising gentleness, he pulled her up. If it had been any other man saying ‘milady’ she’d have rolled her eyes and written him off as some sort of creepy Nice Guy, but the way he spoke seemed completely natural, and even friendly.

“I-I’m fine,” Katherine stuttered, as she dusted herself off, trying not to make too much eye contact. The man’s creepy smile was back, even if she didn’t get the feeling like he was trying to scare her, in fact, it felt like he was trying his hardest not to frighten her. “Thanks, by the way. You really got me out of a really sticky situation there.” It was true, whatever had happened, if it wasn’t for his unlikely appearance… she didn’t really want to think about what would have happened. Bringing up some courage, she stuck out her hand, “Katherine Patterson.”

He left her hanging for slightly longer than was comfortable, staring at her hand as if he was looking in his mind for the correct response, before his eyes lit up, and slightly too eagerly, he reached out to shake it. “William..William Alighieri.”

“Well,” she said as she withdrew your hand, “Thank you again, William. Now…” she scanned the horizon, looking for a car, bike, or something he would have come from, but nothing could be seen. Had he walked all this way? “You got a ride?” 

“Unfortunately, no.” He replied sadly. “I usually would travel by my own power, but I’ve recently…” he paused as if he was thinking of what to say, “recovered from a lengthy illness. And I appear to have gotten myself lost.”

Okay, that explanation was strange. Why would a guy who had recently been sick end up in a place like this? If it wasn’t for the fact he spoke very eloquently, she’d have thought that he was suffering from some sort of mental issue.

“Well, if I can manage to jury-rig a fix to my ride, I can give you a lift to where you need to go, it’s the least I could do.” A small part of her brain questioned if she had just jumped out of the frying pan into the fire with this man. She knew next to nothing about him. But there was something, an aura, no, a blanket of… protection that seemed to emanate from him, a feeling that she could trust him. So she knelt down (but not before buffing that greasy handprint that asshole had left) and using a pocket flashlight, she began a cursory inspection of the engine.

“I’d love to help you, but I’m absolutely clueless when it comes to these things, my wife is much more knowledgeable, a veritable savant when it comes to motorcycles.”

Katherine’s attention was piqued. A mention of a wife would be a good lead on how to help him get home, especially if he hadn’t fully recovered from what ailed him. “Ah, your wife?”

His eyes lit up in admiration, “Yes, a marvelous woman! Motorcycles and Guns, her two specialities. I have a feeling you and her would get along quite nicely.” His fond smile faded as he looked at Devil’s Peak, surrounded by vast wasteland. “Last time I was here, this was lush farmland, what happened?” 

She had deduced what had happened to Tequila, a bolt that kept the air filter locked into place, hadn't been fully screwed in, and had gotten loosened by the sudden jolt of the earthquake, and had started pinching one of the air intake tubes. Well, using her ratchet, she should be able to screw it in for the time being, and drive (carefully) back home, before fixing it permanently. 

Katherine looked up as she reached in and began to tighten the bolt. “Oh, some sort of chemical accident happened thirty-forty years ago, caused by some sort of ferocious storm. She began to fight against the resisting tool as she continued to tighten it. “Before my time, you see. My dad was living around here when it happened. At least, that’s what the government claims. Nobody ever knew about a chemical plant anywhere near here, could be aliens or something.” She gave it one more crank, before being satisfied with her job. “Whatever happened, it's basically sucked the life out of this place, turned it into a barren wasteland. Good,” she packed her stuff back up, and looked up at the man, expecting another question, or even a response, but he stared straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought.

“Forty years…” he murmured, “such devastation.... It wasn’t supposed to be like this...my recovery wasn’t supposed to take so much...or so long”

She risked an interruption “Mr. Aligheri? I think I fixed the girl, she should be able to get us back to my place, and then… to wherever you need to go.”

He startled, jostled away from his melancholy thoughts. “Thank you, if you could possibly drive me to somewhere I can get a transport to Redgrave, I would be in your debt.”

Now it was her turn to be startled, “Redgrave? You sure you want to go there?” She noticed the confused frown on his face. Had he not heard of the biggest news story in the past two years? “The city nearly got wiped out a couple years back, some sort of massive demon attack,” the already pale man went even more pale, “Some sort of weird ass blood sucking demonic tree grew up downtown, wrecked the place…it was called a ....clip...no, a claph…”

“A Qliphoth?” 

She snapped her fingers, “Yup, that’s the name. It was brought up by some wanna be evil overlord named…. Urine, I think? I never actually saw the guy, just heard about it from an old work buddy of mine. Anyways, he and the tree are long gone now, and they’re doing a shit tonne of rebuilding, but there’s still no trains or busses that go there yet, although I know a per-” She stopped as she watched him staring at nothing in particular, a growing expression of horror spreading on his face. “Mr. Alighieri? Is something wrong?”

He slowly dragged his eyes towards her. “My family...my family lived there...I… I’ve been away for so long...I don’t know if something has happened to them.”

The guy’s mannerisms had been weird, true, like he wasn’t quite human, but that fear and grief on his face, that was 100% genuine and human. Katherine felt her heart constrict at it. Whatever happened to the man, his concern for his family was all he cared for at the moment. 

“Look,” she offered, “Let’s get back to my place, and I can drive you to Redgrave. It’s only an hour and a half ride. There’s bound to be a place where you can find information about your family. And then… well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

He hesitated, “Ms. Patterson, you don’t have to do this, you barely know me…”

She shook her head as she tested the engine. It revved almost perfectly, although she’d play it safe on the ride home. “I totally get that you want to know what happened to your family. What kinda dick would I be if I just left you on the side of the road?” She placed on her helmet. “Hop on! Sorry, I don’t got a spare for you.”

One more moment of hesitation, and he slowly swung his leg over the seat, settling himself behind her. It was a snug fit, on a bike designed for one, but she’d manage. William even managed to hold on to the metal backside of the seat, thus avoiding the need to cling onto her, which she was thankful for. Even if he was a complete gentleman, after her recent experience, she didn’t want any reminders of it for quite a while.

Despite the delicate state her bike was in, she couldn’t help but rev the engine one last time before pulling out. She took a glance down to make sure no other bolts were coming loose, and saw the strangest sight in this desolate land.

There, in a crack recently created by the earthquake, was a splash of green and yellow. It was a dandelion, a solitary piece of vegetation growing in defiance of this wasteland. It puzzled Katherine.

_ She could have sworn it hadn’t been there just a few moments ago….. _


End file.
